A Zutara Love Story
by Kawiikonekomeggy
Summary: Katara gets kidnapped!  0
1. Chapter 1

~Your On Fire In The Water That Surrounds Us~

Chapter 1- Blood, Sweat, Fire, Water

(Link: .com/gallery/#/d49nxt6 )

A piercing scream shot out to her comrades, "Ahhhh!"

"KATARA!" Aang and Sokka yell out simultaneously, trapped.

Dust was imminent as the sounds of swords clashed together throughout the warm air. Zuko quickly shifted his view to see Katara, but only got a glimpse of her before Azula's men came charging at him once again. Azula's men attacked: a sharp blade slashed his bicep open and a scream of agony escaped his lips. Before Aang or Sokka could come to Zuko's aid, the ground started to rumble and they stopped in fear. Not knowing what to expect, they looked around seeing a rockslide coming towards them. The rockslide came at them too fast for them to even blink, let alone move out of the way. Zuko was struggling to keep 5 of Azula's men off of him, he yelled out towards where Sokka and Aang had just been and started to fight even harder. Katara, being held captive, could do nothing but stand there and watch her friends get picked off one by one. Tears formed in her eyes as she watched her team being beat down, not being able to do anything. She tried to free herself from the enemy who had a tight grip around her from behind, but she was unsuccessful in her attempts. Aang and Sokka, being pinned under a rockslide, had no luck moving or escaping easily. Nor were they very thorough in their attempts to free themselves in time to save Katara and help Zuko. With their weapons scattered across the battlefield and Aang's air bending being useless as well, they could do nothing but lay there as Katara was taken from them. Zuko had too many men on him to make his way over to free Aang and Sokka or even get to Katara. As quickly as Zuko was knocked down, he was right back up again, although very beaten, cut and physically exhausted. Sweat rolled down his forehead and his shirt was a bit damp around his neck from all the fighting. He kept on his two feet, barely able to move as heavy breaths escaped his dry mouth. His movements slowed and he cursed under his breath, frustrated that his body couldn't keep up. An enemy nearby was watching Zuko's pointless attempts and he knew. Jet knew Zuko had developed feelings toward Katara and become close friends with the rest of the group. What better ways to make him suffer then beat the living hell out of him and his friends and take his beloved? Surely this would do the trick to put him in his place. Since he had joined forces with Azula, it worked out very nicely for the both of them. He would kidnap Katara not only to make Zuko and the gang suffer, but to have a beautiful mother to bear his children later on. While taking Katara, Azula knew the abduction would make the Avatar follow them until he found her. She could wait for his arrival, using Katara as bait and plot an ambush to capture him. That way, she would have the Avatar fall into her trap and not have to go out and search for him any longer. As Zuko was knocked to the ground once again, Jet swooped up Katara in his arms- with her not being so cooperative- and they retreated back to the fire nation ships. Zuko slowly and shakily rose to his feet again, not taking any time to free Sokka or Aang, but instead running after the ships. The soldiers tried to stop him but he simply avoided their attacks and blew past them. It's not that he didn't care for his friends, but he knew if he dawdled, they would lose Katara. Aang and Sokka had the ability to free themselves anyway- even if it would take some time. As they boarded, Jet forced Katara down to the lower levels of the ship. The ships quickly sailed off and Zuko jumped head first into the water, quickly catching onto one of the ladders on the side of the ship. He kept his arm tightly wrapped around the side of the ladder, all the while being dragged throughout the cold water. Night was practically right above him and his cut was burning from the sudden rush of cold water. After he finally caught his breath and regained some of his strength, night had come and he managed to climb up the ladder. When he boarded the ship, he successfully snuck past all of the guards leading to the lower level. He hid behind a wall, listening into the conversation Jet was having with the two guards who were assigned to stand guard in front of Katara's room.

"I don't care what happens, but she does not come out of this room. The only people allowed to access these rooms are Azula, anyone with the password and I." He instructed the two.

They nodded their heads as he continued, "The password is freedom fighters and you do not question anyone who knows it. Understood?"

"Yes sir," the guards replied, saluting him respectfully.

As Jet walked off, Zuko hid behind the wall trying to come up with a plan to get in to Katara's room. Sitting down while gathering his breath and thinking, he came up with a few ideas for a plan to bust Katara out of her room. He could use the password and although Jet said not to question anyone, the soldiers might recognize him. He inhaled a deep breath and jumped out, surprising the guards. He quickly managed to take them out and robbed the smaller one of his outfit. He slipped the outfit on, dragging the exposed guard behind the wall and into the dark. Also making sure the other guard was sitting up against the wall outside of her room: he made the guard look like he was just sleeping on the job. Zuko made sure that they were really knocked out before he took the keys from the guard's pocket. As he did so, he quietly unlocked the door, slipping in and closing it, without Katara noticing. Katara was sitting in a chair with her back towards the door, staring out of the little window provided for her. She was calmly brushing her hair and Zuko noticed she looked saddened. He gulped as he came up behind her, putting his hand over her mouth to prevent her yells from being heard. She dropped her brush, surprised, as she tried to pry off the hand of an unfamiliar person. Since she started to struggle against him, he pulled her body against the back of the chair and pressed his chest against the back of the chair as well to balance the chair from tipping over. Her attacker didn't loosen his grip, but that didn't stop her from struggling to get free.

"Katara, shhh, it's me, Zuko." He whispered in her ear, letting his hot breath linger on her neck for a couple seconds.

He released his hand from her mouth as she stood up and turned around, looking at him. She shot him a cold glare, getting ready to bend her water, indicating she didn't recognize him and was ready to attack. He quickly took off his mask, revealing his scar as she sighed with relief. She threw herself at him, embracing him into a tight and surprise hug. He slowly returned the favor and after their hug ended, they both had a little blush.

"Are you hurt?" Zuko asked her, concerned.

"No, I'm fine," she continued, "Your arm!"

Zuko glanced down at it to see blood rushing from it, "It's nothing. Don't worry about it."

"Zuko," she started sternly, "Let me fix that up. It won't take long."

Not bothering to give him time to reply, she walked over to him, pulling out her sacred water. She bended it around her hand like a glove and gently put it over the wound on his arm. Zuko watched as her hand started to glow and the cut started to fade along with the slight pain that was with it. After a couple of seconds, she bended her sacred water back into her special container and examined his arm. The cut was no longer there and her healing didn't even leave a scar. It looked like he had never gotten cut.

He looked at Katara, "Thank you."

"Don't mention it," she replied, "How did you-?"

"Long story," he interrupted, knowing what she was going to ask, "I'll tell you later but right now, we need to get off of this ship before they know I boarded or we'll both be prisoners."

Sighing, she replied, "Yeah, your right. So, what's the plan?"

"Huh?" Zuko questioned.

Katara's jaw dropped; irritated he came to rescue her without knowing what to do after he had reached her. She took a deep breath and calmed herself as she began to think. Her hand on her hip and the other wiping her brow, she began to think about how to get off the ship with Zuko, but without getting noticed. Now was not the time to let her anger cloud her thoughts and blow up. She kept on her toes, alert as she heard someone walking down the hall towards her room. She didn't have time for words so she quickly pushed Zuko in the closet, shutting it quickly and quietly. She whispered to him to be quiet before the person knocked on the door. She tip-toed to her chair, picked up the brush and continued to brush her hair as the mysterious person entered her room. She acted like nothing had happened and continued to stare out of her window.

"So, Katara, how do you like your room?" he asked.

She would know his voice anywhere; it was Jet. She snorted, refusing to make conversation with him. He shut the door, walking up to her from behind. Zuko could see out of a little crack and watched Jet, making sure he didn't go too far to do anything to hurt or take advantage of Katara. Jet grabbed her wrist and stood her to her feet, twirling her around to face him. She dropped her brush once again, forced to face him for a split second. After seeing the look in his eyes, she then turned her face from him with an attitude. He grabbed her other wrist and shoved her against the wall roughly, staring into her eyes. After she regained her vision from her head being pounded against the wall, she glared at him as his cold stare turned into an evil smirk. The bastard enjoyed seeing her hate and pain so evident in her gorgeous blue orbs. Her arms were pinned beside her head as his body moved closer to hers. She put up a good fight to free her arms from her sides, but to no avail. Before she could put her leg up to prevent him from having his body on hers, he beat her to it. He had maneuvered between her legs, leaving no space between their bodies except for their faces which were slowly inching closer together.

"Alright, I see you like to play hard to get. What happened Katara? We used to be so close. You would've loved it when my body was pressed against yours." He whispered to her.

It was true, she had a physical attraction to him and it was hard to resist him when he was so close to her like this. She gulped hard and faced him once again, trying to keep her glare towards him. Katara tried to keep strong for herself. Although Zuko was hiding in the closet close by, Jet hadn't done anything to her for him to come out and attack. Instead of being saved by someone else, she was determined to save herself this time and she was going to try her hardest to prove that she could handle herself. Gritting her teeth and giving Jet a cold glare, she spoke up with a dark tone.

"That was before you lied you jerk! And now that you're working with Azula, it just makes me hate you all the more, you traitor! I can't believe that you betrayed us like that! You're despicable, Jet." She yelled at him.

Before she could finish expressing all her thoughts, Jet had closed the space between their heads, capturing her lips with his. She blushed, feeling goose bumps start from her legs all the way up to her head. Although she enjoyed his wonderful kissing, she struggled to get away from his grasp. She knew if he continued to kiss her like this, she'd end up giving in to him and she couldn't- she wouldn't- give up. Zuko wanted to jump out and rip him to shreds at that moment, but he composed himself, waiting to see if he would say anything about any further plans. He needed to know what Jet was planning teaming up with Azula. As Jet moved his lips from hers, she bit her lip, turning her head away from his so she could avoid from that happening again and to hide her blush. He smirked, knowing that she enjoyed what he had done to her and he licked his lips in delight. She was a girl after all and Jet was a very attractive young man. Even though he was a "bad boy" she couldn't help if she had an attraction to him and being a bad boy just made it all the worse, seeing how she was usually attracted to bad boys. [Ahem! Zuko. ;)] He slowly breathed against her neck and she looked at the door Zuko had been in for help. She couldn't take much more before her body gave in to him and she desperately needed Zuko's help. She couldn't shake him off of her and no matter what she did or said, it seems her body betrayed her thoughts. Before Zuko could get a chance kicked down the door, Jet spoke up.

"Now how could a jerk like me give you such an offer: how would you like to be the mother of my children and the one and only woman in my life?" He asked, unaware that he was pissing Zuko off even more.

"Over my dead body…" She tried to scream but it sounded huffier.

"Aww Katara, stop playing so hard to get. You and I both know you want me as much as I want you. Stop resisting so much and just give in already. If you be a good girl about this, I'll even let your friends live and maybe let you visit them. It'll be our dirty little secret, okay?" He said, pushing her past limits by trailing kisses down her neck.

"Zuko… Help…" she whispered just enough for him to hear her.

"What did you just-?" he started to ask her but was cut off.

Zuko broke down the door, pulling out the sword he had stolen from the guard and attacked Jet. Surprised, he was too slow to react and his arm was gashed open by the sword as Katara slid down the wall, holding her arms against her chest, breathing heavily, a blush strong on her cheeks. Zuko stood in front of her with his sword up and in a defensive stance. Katara put her head down trying to collect herself as Jet held the gash in his arm, trying to keep pressure on it. Zuko glanced down at Katara to check if she was harmed in any way. She stood to her feet behind Zuko with a slight blushing staining her cheeks and nodded to him. After confirming that she was alright, he fixed his vision back onto Jet who was leaning against the wall on the other side of the room. Jet gritted his teeth, smirking and chuckling at Zuko.

"What's so funny?" Zuko yelled, outraged at him.

"You really think you can get away with her? There are thousands of guards on this ship with Azula on the ship beside us with other thousands or so soldiers who won't hesitate to kill you! So, my friend, you really wanna do this?" Jet questioned, irritating Zuko even further.

Not bothering to hear any more from him, he jumped towards Jet, sending a ball of fire towards him. Jet managed to roll out of the way and dodge the ball of fire, blowing a loud whistle that hung from his neck. Dropping the whistle, he stood to his feet and threw some type of smoke bomb down while quickly fleeing away from the room. Zuko grabbed Katara and quickly put his body around her, putting her face in his chest with his arms around her as he stood up wearily, coughing. Katara tried to move her head out of his chest but he held her head firmly against his chest, forcing her to breathe in his scent, rather than the smoke. She held onto his shirt, keeping her eyes closed and trusting Zuko to guide them to safety. When he escaped the smoky room with her, he released her, coughing even more.

"Zuko! Are you alright? C'mon, please get up, we have to escape!" Katara said, helping him to his feet.

She threw his arm around her neck and helped him stand to his weary feet. After he was on his feet, she moved his arm and he held himself up by leaning on his knees. She glanced around to get to know her surroundings and tugged Zuko's wrist towards the stairs leading to the upper deck of the ship. She held a grip on his wrist and he made sure not to let go of hers. He kept coughing, but ran with her, barely keeping his eyes open. He started thinking that maybe what Jet had thrown at them was more than just a smoke bomb. Soldiers attacked them as soon as they were in sight and Zuko's reaction time was delayed from inhaling all the smoke. He fell to his knee and put his hand on the ship to make sure he wouldn't fall over. He still had a hold on Katara's wrist as they stood out onto the main part of the ship where they could clearly see water. Katara water bended a barrier around them, protecting them from the soldier's fire attacks. Zuko released his grip from Katara and began to cough even harder as some blood was also coughed up. Katara turned her head toward him and started to panic as she saw him breathing heavily with blood dripping off of his chin. He was on his hands and knees trying his best to catch his breath. She didn't know what to do so she let the barrier down and grabbed the back of Zuko's shirt, pulling him to his feet. She grabbed his wrist once again and he followed her, watching Katara knock the guards off their feet as she came up to them. They ran towards the edge of the ship as more guards started running towards them. They jumped off of the ship together, interlocking their hands so not to lose one another. As he jumped, he had a strong light-headed feeling as they fell towards the water. When they hit the water, Zuko blacked out as Katara swam to the surface with Zuko in her small arms. When they reached the top, she bended a bubble of air around the both of them and bended them to the bottom of the ocean. She kept her water bending up until she reached an island that was close by; all the while she had Zuko way lying in the bubble she had created. As soon as she above water, she released her barrier and grabbed a hold of Zuko. She dragged him out of the water by wrapping her arms around his chest. Once they were far enough away from the water, she set Zuko down softly and used her sacred water to heal him although she had no idea what was wrong with him. Zuko shot open his eyes as she moved her hands from his chest to his stomach and pushed her away from him as he turned he head to the side. Katara heard him throw up and looked over towards him, crawling closer to his side. She put her hand on his back and held his hair out of his face as he continued to throw up white mucus looking stuff. After he was done, he sat back and wiped his mouth, looking over at Katara.

"Are you okay?" They both asked each other at the same time.

"I'm fine." Zuko lied.

"Ditto." Katara replied lying as well, feeling exhausted and dizzy.

Zuko stood up slowly and took a look around at the island they had managed to find. He turned towards Katara and offered his hand out to help her up. She took it, standing up quickly to also gaze around. As soon as she was up though, she began to sway and Zuko came up from behind her, holding her up. She closed her eyes as he picked her up and carried her in his arms until he found a safe place to rest at.

"Ugh... We're going to be here for a while. I wonder how the others are doing..." Zuko said, looking around.

TO BE CONTINUED!


	2. Chapter 2

Okay so I want to apologize for how the last chapter was. I saw how long the paragraphs were and I just was stunned. xD I wasn't aware of how bad the spacing was and I plan to fix it. Thank you for bringing that to my attention though edwardismyne. And also, thank you for your feedback, it helps me keep motivated. =] Hopefully I got it fixed correctly in this chapter.

~Your On Fire In The Water That Surrounds Us~

Chapter 2- Within Warmth's Arms

After searching around, Zuko had found a place to put Katara for a little while. He covered her under some leafs just in case anyone else was on the island and took off. Running to look for a more reliable place to hide out for a night or two, he also kept his eye out for any food. As soon as he left her side, it's as if the heavens knew that they shouldn't be apart because a downpour hit the island like none other.

He had come across a cave and cautiously approached it, making sure there were no enemies. He slowly walked into the cave, dripping wet with his hands clenched and held outward in case of an attack. After checking the cave thoroughly, both inside and out, there were no enemies to be found, so he quickly ran back to where he had put Katara's resting body. Finding her to be just as soaked as he was, Zuko quickly uncovered her and carried her back to the cave he had found earlier.

He kept his body over her while carrying her bridal style, trying to keep her from getting completely saturated with rain water. As he arrived at the cave, he once again cautiously entered, laying her down against the wall. Since dark was quickly approaching, he created a ball of fire in his hand and looked over the interior of the cave. Finding a dark brown bear fur lying next to a large stack of dried sticks, he decided to light a fire. Sending a ball of fire to it, the stack of dried wood quickly lit- the flames igniting to the top of the cave.

Once again, Zuko picked up Katara, but carried her over and laid her on the surprisingly soft bear fur. He looked over her peaceful face before wrapping the bear fur around her small and fragile body, trying to keep her warm and from getting sick. Within seconds, the fire died down to a normal height and Zuko took one last glance back at Katara before going back out into the rain to look for food. When he had gotten a couple of fish and some tea leaves, he headed back to the cave, the rain still pouring down from the sky. By the time he entered the cave, he was drenched but searched around deeper in the cave.

After tripping over something, he turned to see that there were a few pots and pans lying around. Pushing his aggravation to the side, he gathered the things together and cooked the fish while also making some warm tea for them. He shook his head, trying to shake the water off of his dripping wet hair and again went over to Katara. To her left is where he sat, making sure not to get too close to her in case she were to wake. His attempts in trying to dry her hair and face with the bear fur had not been as successful as he thought it would be.

Continuing to rub the bear fur against her soft hair, she slowly started to open her eyes, taking in her surroundings. She quickly sat up, looking around and Zuko tapped her on the shoulder. She jumped and spun around to her side to face him. He gave her a small, reassuring smile and she let out a sigh of relief, trying to calm her racing heart. She decided to get up and walk over to the fire with the bear fur around her to get warm. Zuko followed her, sitting down next to her, still soaked.

"I-Its cold. Where are we Zuko?" She asked him, shivering.

He made sure that the bear fur was tightly wrapped around her. "Well, we're still on the island but I found this cave. Better shelter then leaves, I suppose. All these things were provided for us when I found it… Uh- sorry for waking you." He said, grabbing the fish and putting it on what looked like a plate.

He handed it to her as he got the tea from the pot and poured it into a cup made from bark and leaves. Whoever it was that lived here had been gone for a while considering that everything was so dry and clean. If people did reside in this cave, then he was thankful that they were smart enough to make such things to provide for Katara and himself for a night or two. He sat back down in front of the fire, still pretty drenched from the immense downpour of rain.

"What about you though? You're completely soaked. Aren't you cold?" Katara asked him, a bit worried.

He ignored her concern. "Katara," he started, "Eat up. You need your energy in case something happens. I have to go search the area to see if any fire nation ships have landed on the island yet."

Katara got annoyed by him for ignoring her concern. "Zuko, you're soaked. Here, dry off." She offered the bear fur to him.

"There's no point in drying off when I'm going to go right back out into the rain. Do not leave this cave. Stay here where it's safe."

Katara sighed, "Fine... Zuko?"

He gulped, "Yeah?"

She hesitated before she responded, "Please... be careful."

He smiled with his back towards her, standing at the entrance of the cave. He was surprised- he didn't think that she actually was concerned about him. He looked back at her, a little confused but also a little happy. She noticed his odd stare and looked up at him, wiping the side of her face with her wrist.

"What?" She asked with a blush.

"Just..." He began but was careful how he worded his thoughts. "Not used to people being concerned about me."

"You're all I've got and besides, you've gained my trust back. So, don't screw it up this time. You mean more to me then you know." After she noticed she had said the last part aloud, she blushed once again and continued to eat her fish. "Now, get going and come back in one piece." She finished.

He smiled at her once again, with a light blush on his cheeks. "Thanks."

And with that, he walked out into the downpour of rain once again. Katara sat closer to the fire, still feeling cold and grabbed another fish while drinking some tea. It tasted awful without any sugar or flavoring, but it was something. After she had filled her belly, she sat back against the rock that was in the cave with the bear fur wrapped around her, slowly drifting to sleep again.

Zuko sneezed as he continued to move throughout the wide range of trees, scouting the area for any fire nation enemies. As he spotted something red from the corner of his eye, his quickly hid behind a very tall bush. He listened in to the voices he heard and stayed as still as he possibly could. The voice sounded familiar to him and he soon recognized the voice as Mai along with some other fire nation soldiers tagging along with her. He decided to wait until they passed him so he could run back to the cave to tell Katara.

Once he arrived at the cave, he saw she was perfectly unharmed and sleeping soundly with the bear fur wrapped around her. He heard the voices slowly getting closer and quickly put out the fire with the pots of water he got for tea. Once the fire was out, he quietly made his way over to Katara. She had woken up when the fire went out, without Zuko noticing. When her eyes adjusted, all she could see was his soaked face close to hers.

She didn't understand why he was so close all of a sudden, but reached her hands out to grab a hold of him. He was trying to pull her to her feet so she quietly agreed and stood with him. The water from his hair dripped onto her face and she quickly put the bear fur around his shoulders and pulled it shut, trying to help him sit down on the rock but he shook it off and refused.

"What's you probl-?" She started, cutting cut off by Zuko's hand around her mouth.

He had put his other arm around her shoulder, slightly pulling her a bit closer to him. Removing his hand from her shoulder, he put his index finger to his lips. Once she acknowledged that she had to be quiet, he then removed his hand from her mouth. Not giving her a chance to react, his hand grabbed hers and led them further back into the cave.

When he finally stopped, he lit a very small ball of fire in his hand, and sat against the wall. Katara watched his movements and kept close to him by sitting in between his legs, thinking nothing of it. She leaned in towards him, keeping her voice to a whisper as she starting asking him questions of concern.

"Zuko," she started, "What's going on? Are you okay?" she kept questioning, becoming more concerned when he didn't replying right away.

"Fire nation... I saw a ship and heard what sounded like Mai. We'll have to keep quiet and hidden." He responded, out of breath.

"For how long?" She replied, whispering.

"I'm not sure," he said honestly, "But we can't face them head-on so we'll just have to bear it for a while." He finished, feeling his energy leave his body altogether.

As Zuko heard the voices become louder, he made the ball of fire in his hand disappear. Katara blindly felt around to make sure that he was planning on staying with her. She put her hand on something firm and very muscular. She frowned, confused to what it was but blushed when she moved her hand further up and felt Zuko's throat. He blushed as well, confused as to what she was doing.

Zuko grabbed her hand and moved it from his throat but held a firm grip on them. He wasn't complaining about her hands being on him, but now was not the time for such things. Zuko knew that she didn't try it on purpose though- she just seemed a bit scared so he understood. When he let go of her smoothly soft hands, he pulled her closer to him by her biceps and whispered something in her ear.

"Katara, don't worry. I'm not going to leave you. I'm here." He reassured her.

His warm breath in her ear, traveled down to her neck and she got an overwhelming sensation from it, shivering a bit. She told herself it was nothing and tried to shake off the sensation to concentrate on the task at hand. He released his grip on her and helped her to her feet, leaning against the wall. Not being able to move as fast as Zuko, she stumbled a bit when he helped her stand. She leaned against his chest to steady herself, cursing under her breath for being a klutz at such a time.

He stood there, surprised but he rested his hands on her waist, not knowing where else to put them to be able to reassure her that he was still there. The both of them held an awkward blush on their cheeks, but stood still, afraid to make any more awkward movements. They stayed in the position as they listened in to Mai and the soldier's conversation.

"Ugh, well obviously he isn't here. Zuko would have burnt the bear fur so I know that was defiantly not him. Someone else must be on this island. They're probably friends with him so you guys can wait outside for him to return, but I'm staying in here were its not wet." She said as the soldiers exited the cave.

Katara and Zuko heard her shifting around and they figured she was probably trying to get comfortable. They sat back down again, sitting beside each other as Zuko tried to keep awake. The sides of their bodies were up against each other so Zuko felt when she started to shiver. He gulped as a blush appeared on his face as he was embarrassed about what he was going to say next.

"Katara," He whispered, "You know we're going to have to share body heat if we are to keep warm in this damp cave, right?"

Katara blushed and didn't respond but instead, climbed between his legs and leaned her back against his chest, grabbing his arms and putting them around her stomach. His blush intensified as he sat stiff, hesitant. Katara put her head back against his shoulder and he leaned his head forward to rest his head on her shoulder.

"Z-Zuko... You should get some sleep. I'll wake you if anything happens. You didn't get anything to eat and I'm sure you're exhausted. It's okay, r-really- sleep." She reassured him.

He leaned back against the wall, pulling her closer to him for more warmth before falling asleep with his head still on her shoulder.

TO BE CONTINUED!


	3. Chapter 3

~ Your On Fire In The Water That Surrounds Us~

Chapter 3- Rain Mixed With Sorrow and Tears

(Link: .com/gallery/#/d49uxqe )

When Zuko had fallen fast asleep, footsteps from Mai could be heard. Katara kept on her toes and listened carefully, just in case it sounded like she was getting closer. She sat still and felt Zuko's short breaths on the side of her cheek as his chest slowly moved up and down against her back. After what seemed like 20 minutes or so, Katara heard Mai's footsteps slowly fade away. She could hear a guy's voice and another female but they didn't sound like anyone she knew.

Katara became a little alarmed and thought she should go out and see what was going on, but she didn't want to wake Zuko. Before she could get free from Zuko's grasp, all the commotion outside of the cave came to a silent stop. Katara swiftly pulled herself from Zuko's warm arms and quietly crept out of the cave into the pouring rain. Within a minute of being in the rain, she was once again soaked. Shivers shot up her spine and she started to tremble.

Her body was too small to produce the right amount of body heat to keep her warm, but she stubbornly ignored what he body was telling her and continued on. Seeing a fire nation guard about halfway up a hill, she ducked behind a tree and watched him rush up the hill. Not being able to contain her curiosity, she followed him up to an opening where Mai and even more fire nation guards were. She kept hidden and watched what it was they were up to from behind the bushes.

Peeking her eye out, she could also see a male who was forced down to his knees and a woman who was being dragged away from him. The guy screamed out her name and Mai waved her hand towards the soldiers who had a hold on the girl. Mai approached the woman who was held by her guards with an umbrella in her hands.

"Now I'm going to ask you one more time," she started, "So don't lie to me: is there anyone else here on this island besides you and your pathetic husband?"

Crying, the woman replied, "No, I swear it. I don't know of anyone else on the island!"

Mai scowled at the young woman, "It seems to me that you're lying. I guess you don't care much about your husband's life then, do you?"

"No, please!" the young woman begged, squirming to get free of the soldiers grasp.

The man on his knees knocked the guard's feet out from under him and stood up, running to free his woman. Before he could reach her, more soldiers had already gotten to him and pinned him to the ground. Mai nodded to her guards and turned her back on them. Katara gasped in shock when the soldier pulled his blade from his sheath and lifted it.

"NO! PLEASE! DON'T!" the woman screamed from the top of her lungs, tears running off her face.

Katara couldn't bear to watch what was going to happen next. Her body froze up and she squeezed her eyes shut with freight. The only thing that could be heard was the woman's agonizing cries of sorrow and her continuous struggle against the soldiers. When the water bender looked up, she saw a pool full of blood forming into a stream that was coming from the still body of the man.

Gathering up all of her courage, Katara jumped out of the bushes and ran over to the soldiers holding the woman. Knocking their helmets together, she had managed to stun them enough to make them release their grip on the woman. The woman immediately ran over to her husband's dead body and threw herself over him, crying her heart out. Katara stood in front of the woman, her defensive stance in effect.

Mai turned her head and noticed the water bender had arrived. Smirking, she gave the order for her men to attack and Katara braced herself for their attacks. She fought back against the soldiers with all she had but it didn't seem to be enough to at least hold them off. Her arms and legs had been cut by their swords because she wasn't fast enough to dodge their attacks AND protect the girl.

"Listen to me," Katara yelled out to the girl, "You need to run away from here! Now!"

"I-I can't just leave him! I'd rather die by his side!"she yelled back, running towards Katara.

'Dammit, don't run towards danger you fool!' Katara thought to herself, trying to reach the woman before the soldiers did.

Unfortunately, one of the fire nation soldiers had caught her off guard and at the last second, she saw his attack. She wasn't fast enough to counter attack it though so she prepared herself to take the attack. The second the guard made contact with Katara's body, the woman was once again captured.

"NO!" she yelled out.

The solider had been running full speed at the young water bender and managed to land a fist right to her stomach. The force of the punch had sent her flying across the top of the open area. She managed to land on her feet, skidding to a stop right before she went off the edge of the cliff that led into the cave. Although she landed, Katara fell to one knee in pain from the hit and tried to stand back up.

As soon as she lifted her head up, it was greeted with a fist coming right towards her. All she could do was put her arms up in front of her in a defensive stance. The fire nation soldier's fist managed to break through Katara's defense and send her flying off the edge of the cliff. She screamed as she fell, helpless.

Zuko had awoken with a start from hearing a female's voice in a scream of terror. When he noticed that Katara wasn't in between his legs any longer, he thought the worst of the scream and instantly stood to his feet. He ran to the entrance of the cave just in time to look up and see Katara's body falling from the sky. Becoming saturated again, Zuko was becoming quite used to the cold water, but the colder air is what sent shivers down his spine.

Zuko quickly ran to catch her and when he was sure he was in the right position to do so, he braced himself to break her fall. Her body collided with his and he was knocked off his feet, skidding a bit. The pain hit him once he sat up with her laying over him and he angrily rubbed his back.

"Zuko! Are you alright?" She asked, hearing painful grunts come from him.

He looked up at her with a cold glare. "I told you not to leave the cave, Katara. Are you hurt?" he asked looking at her cuts and small bruises that were starting to form.

"No, I'm fine." She replied quickly.

"What the hell is going on?" he yelled, pushing her off of him.

She stood to her feet and helped him to his, "The fire nation. They've found the people who must've been living in the cave and held them hostage. I heard Mai leave the cave so I followed her out. Zuko- they killed that woman's husband!" she screamed out in shock.

"Woah, slow down Katara."

"I can't! They're going to kill the girl if we don't get up there! Zuko please!" she begged, pulling at his sleeve.

"I guess I don't have a choice." He said, following her up the hill around the side of the cave.

Once they reached the top, Mai and Zuko exchanged a weird stare before the soldiers attacked him. He pulled out his swords and lit them on fire, lunging forward and easily defeated them. Katara bended her water, sharply whipping it at a couple of soldiers, sending them to the ground. After they finished with a couple of them, more came running towards them, attacking Zuko and Katara, showing no mercy. The girl's scream threw Katara off and she turned around to see the girl on the ground.

A solider had knocked her to the ground, and Zuko had quickly jumped in front of her, managing to push her out of the way and taking the damage. Although Zuko had taken a slice to his chest, another soldier came up behind the woman and stabbed a sword through her chest, ripping it from her body. Zuko threw his swords to the ground, infuriated that he had been cut across his chest and suddenly, he viciously charged. He created a giant ball of fire in the both of his hands and sent it flying towards Mai.

She dodged it and told her soldiers to retreat along with her. Instead of charging after them, Zuko stood still, glaring at Mai as she retreated along with her guards. Mai saw the horrified look in his eyes and Zuko noticed that she had a bit of sorrow leaking through hers. Katara clumsily ran over to the women to try to use her healing hands to keep her alive. Once her hands touched her wound, Katara realized how cold she was, but still continued to try and heal her. As she moved her hands around the woman's torso, she gasped in shock when her hand ran over her stomach.

Katara tried everything she could to help the woman stay alive, but after 5 minutes or so, Zuko put his hand on her shoulder and shook his head. The broken water bender put the water back in her pouch and sat there beside the lifeless woman, tears coming to her eyes. Zuko sat on his knees beside her and put his arm around her shoulder, helping her to her feet. They had both become completely drenched from the rain but Katara wasn't concerned about that at the moment.

"Katara, I don't think there's much more we could do to help them. I know you tried your best." Zuko said, trying to help her.

"Yeah but if Aang or Toph or Sokka were here, or even you had come to help her at the same time I did... She could've still been alive. And she looks so young..." Katara said, feeling useless, "I can't do anything. I couldn't even help her. I wish I could be strong..." She said, tears falling off her face.

"Katara..." He said, speechless.

"No, Zuko," she snapped, the tears finally showing, "You don't understand: she was pregnant!"

Zuko's eyes widened in shock as the words finally registered in his head. He didn't know what more to say so he helped her stand to her feet. Before he could do anything more, Katara turned around and hugged him, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. She had seen people hurt before but she had never really seen anyone die right before her eyes in such a way that this couple did.

It scared her more then she thought it would and upset her because she felt she didn't do enough to help. Katara felt helpless and like she was nothing but a burden to Zuko. Tears rolled down her cheeks as Zuko wrapped his arms around her back, holding her close to him for comfort and some warmth. She released her grip on him as he did the same to her. She wiped the tears from her face as she walked over to the girl lying on the ground.

"I'm so sorry..." she whispered.

To be continued!


End file.
